Misty Horning is the librarian at Valley High School. She is a self-proclaimed geek who loves all storyworlds. Her mother would read to her in the womb, helping to instill the love of the written word. This love of literature became obvious to all when she tumbled down the rabbit hole in fourth grade — also known as having her nose in a book and walking into a door. Her love of books really is an addiction, especially her love of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass. To date, she has 85 different copies of this story, along with various retellings. While seen as antisocial by some, she really isn’t; she would just rather spend her time with fictional characters, rather than real people. Whether it be Literature or literature, she will read at least the first few pages to see if she likes it; if not, then she moves on. As she has learned from Heather Dahl, life is too short to read a book you don’t like, especially when there are so many out there to try.
Catie Reardon teaches drama at Rio Grande High School in Albuquerque, NM and can be found with at least two novels on her person at any given time (although some days it’s a novel on Kindle). Books have been an integral part of her life for so long, she legitimately can’t remember a time where her bookshelves weren’t about to fall apart from too many books. The very first series she ever read was Harry Potter and it set the wheels in motion for turning Catie into the geek she is today. She is a proud member of the Joss Whedon and Psych fanbases, thinks Wonder Woman is the best superhero, and is newly obsessed with all things Sarah J. Maas. Fantasy and fairy tale re-tellings are Catie’s favorite genres of late; escaping reality for a while is her favorite form of relaxation. “What’s the best thing about book club” you ask? Enjoying new books with good friends who are just as passionate about reading as Catie is.
Adrienne Royce teaches junior and senior English at at Eldorado High School in Albuquerque, NM. She is a third generation educator who has been reading since before she can remember. One day when she was four, her mother went to run errands and left her with a family friend, another teacher. When her mom came back ‘Auntie Susan’ asked her why she hadn’t told her she could already read. She laughed and said, “Because I didn’t know.” Both of her parents were lifelong educators who read to her all of the time and she had somehow absorbed it. Adrienne loves all things Harry Potter and is a proud Ravenclaw who re-reads the series at least every other summer. She is able to justify the multiple bookshelves all over her home and classroom by claiming they are ‘interior design’ and knows just what to do with an empty spot…jump on Amazon to fill it. Waiting in line or waiting on her friends if they are late, doesn’t bother her…she always has a book with her (or even on her phone in a ‘book emergency’). Her superpower is the ability to recommend the perfect book for her colleagues and even for the reluctant reader who claims to hate books. Adrienne is the proud mother of three awesome kids, Carson, 28, Brady, 26, and Kayleigh, 24. She can’t wait until the bookstores in Albuquerque reopen so she can wander around for hours with Misty Horning.
Heather Bassett is a policy analyst and government affairs liaison for Albuquerque Public Schools. Heather is a reader, not a literary analyst. She is still angry about the dog dying in every book in school and doesn’t remember enjoying any single book given to her as required reading. The first book she read in one sitting was Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and she sat by the farmhouse window in southern Minnesota until the sun went down. The next day the school librarian gave her The Summer of the Monkeys, and she felt just as happy. She had a high school teacher that let her chose The Catcher in the Rye and so she liked that. For Christmas, her mom counted a hardcover book as a “big gift,” because it seemed expensive. Now, she re-reads Pride and Prejudice to reset her soul and devours young adult fiction, preferring to hold steady at the emotional age of 16 in a world where romance exists and anything is possible. When Heather joins book clubs, her friends are shocked that she doesn’t notice things like foreshadowing.
Daniel Kennerly teaches at Grant Middle School in Albuquerque, NM. Like many of our students today, Daniel Kennerly started off as a reluctant reader. Daniel has a learning disability and processing issues made reading a struggle. His first trip to a comic book store wound up being a gateway to young adult literature. After exploring comics Daniel began to gravitate toward fantasy young adult literature. One summer Daniel read through the entire Chronicles of Prydain series and has fond memories of reading Taran Wanderer at Bluewater Lake. Today, Daniel teaches English Language Development at Grant Middle School. He works with a population of whom many are reluctant readers, instilling a love of literature. Today Daniel enjoys historically based young adult fiction while also embracing his roots of science fiction and fantasy.
Steve Pinzone teaches English and Drama at La Cueva High School and considers himself an avid reader, which includes YA lit. regularly, and a slight comics/graphic novel addiction. Book Clubs are a great vehicle for friendships and cultivating the great benefits of reading for pleasure and for life such as opening our imaginations, building our discourse, broadening our views, and simply making us deeper thinkers and more compassionate people.
Debra Kincaid teaches Gifted Language Arts to 6th and 7th graders at Hoover Middle School. She comes from a family of teachers, librarians and certified book gatherers (as her t-shirt says, “it can’t be hoarding if it’s books!). An English major and bibliophile in college, teaching is a new profession for her (in her fourth year) and the best part is reading and “book talk” with students and teachers. She enjoys a wide variety of books, can be found maxing out her hold list online at the library, cruising Goodreads and grabbing books at the library sales. Debra’s reading philosophy is that if it’s worth reading, it will have characters you care about and words that you wish you’d written; if not, move on.
William Barnes teaches at Grant Middle School in Albuquerque, NM.
Amanda Barnes teaches at Grant Middle School in Albuquerque, NM.
Stephanie Roe is the librarian at Grant Middle School in Albuquerque, NM.
Forever Young Adult Booktalks 